by Griff Hosker
“Then we will head further south. Cnut, have the oars run out. The men have been getting lazy lately. It is time to exercise.”
The wind aided us as we turned slightly and, as soon as the oars began their stroke we fairly flew through the azure blue water.”
“Are we losing the ships?”
“No, Jarl Dragon Heart. There are two of them and they are closing.”
That worried Josephus. “Then they are Barbary pirates. We would have outrun an Imperial ship,” He pointed south. “I would watch to the south. This is a typical pirate trap.”
“Haaken, have the men not rowing get their bows and their weapons.”
Cnut and the rowers were still taking it easy. There was little point in exhausting them if the pirates were catching us. Better to let them think they had us and we had nothing in reserve.
“Sails to the south east!”
Snorri and Erik Short Toe were at the prow and they both had good eyes. I shielded my eyes and I could just make out the dark shapes. “Josephus, head for them. Cnut, let us up the rate.”
Josephus was incredulous. “You would go towards them? You should flee!”
“But where to? They are catching us already and the ships ahead can cut us off. Better to meet them separately than let them join forces.”
I donned my helmet and my sword before picking up my bow. I hoped that surprise would win the day. I wanted them to believe we had not seen their plan. The two ships were now clearly visible. They were approaching rapidly despite the unfavourable wind. Their sails helped them to sail very close to the wind.
A gap had appeared between the two small boats ahead. I could now see that they were very low in the water. “Sail as close as you can to the southernmost ship. I want to be alongside them.”
“But they will board!”
“They will try to. Cnut, when I give the word I want the oars in and every bow aimed at the ship to the north!”
Even Cnut was surprised. “The north?”
“Aye I have a surprise for the other. I want you and Haaken with me at the stern.” I handed my shield to Aiden. “When the fight starts then I want you, Arturus and Magnus to protect Josephus. He is the treasure we must watch! Snorri, command the archers.”
“Aye Jarl Dragon Heart.”
The southern ship was now less than fifty paces away while the other was over a hundred paces to the north and was turning to reach us. “In oars. Snorri, I want every warrior on that ship killing.”
I saw the southern boat as it headed towards our stern. “Haaken, Cnut, grab Aiden’s precious stones.” They grinned as they realised what I intended. We went to the side as the grappling hooks were hurled up. I saw a cloaked figure at the stern and the rest were gleaming half naked ebony bodies which glistened with sweat. There looked to be over twenty warriors assembled. They had colourful earrings and wicked swords. With teeth bared they prepared to board us. Behind me I heard the whoosh of arrows. “Now!” As one we lifted the stones and dropped them to the boat below. They were heavy rocks and we were higher than the lean little ship. One stone struck a warrior on the head which opened like a ripe red plum the others crashed to the deck and through to the blue sea below. The tiny boat immediately filled with water and capsized. I drew my sword and severed the grappling hooks. Our speed took us away from the men who were either drowned already or would soon be.
The three of us ran to the other side. The small boat was a floating coffin. Its speed had brought it so close that my archers could not miss. I saw that the two other ships were now less than four hundred paces from us. Flight was impossible.
“Josephus, put the steer board hard over. Take us towards them.” As we turned, our bow cracked and creaked through and over the doomed pirate ship. The planking sprung and it began to fill with water taking the dead down to the deep.
Cnut turned to me as he donned his helmet, “We have no more rocks to throw.”
“No, but we have arrows aplenty, and now we have three more archers. If we destroy one crew then the other may leave.”
There was a gap between the two ships as they sought to flank us. “Head for the northern ship. Ulfheonar, let us show these pirates that they fight the finest warriors the world has ever seen! Ulfheonar!”
They all took up the chant and then began to howl like wolves. It was eerie. Remembering how we had crushed one ship I shouted, “Ram him, Josephus!”
My captain turned the steer board and I saw the panic on the crew of the nearest ship, now just fifty paces away. Haaken shouted, “Loose!” and we all released our arrows. We were so close we could aim and my arrow took the cloaked warrior at the steer board in the chest. He pitched overboard and the ship swung beneath our bows. Snorri’s arrow took the helmsman next to him. The small ship had no one left to steer.
“Hard over, let us close with the other. Archers loose!”
We all headed for the stern. The second ship was closing. Our arrows were more ragged but I saw warriors falling overboard. The grappling hooks struck the steer board side and I saw black arms grasping our gunwale. Drawing my sword I launched myself at the huge warrior who climbed aboard. He had a dagger in his teeth and he wielded a double handed scimitar. He swung it at one of my men who threw himself backwards to avoid the blow. As the warrior raised his weapon to finish off Thorgill the Unlucky I stabbed at him. Ragnar’s Spirit pierced his arm and he spun to face me. Despite the blood flowing from the wound he lunged at me. I realised I had to treat the scimitar as an axe. I ducked beneath it and as I felt it whoosh above my head I jabbed forward and felt my sword sink into layers of flesh. He roared his pain but this was a hard warrior to kill. He looked as though the wound, which would have killed a lesser man was merely a scratch. I met his next blow with my sword and I held mine with two hands too. His grin told me that he expected me to be forced back. I was not and sparks flew as the blades met.
I lifted my right foot and smashed it against his left knee. I heard a crack and he dropped to the ground. Before he could recover I swung my blade and decapitated him. He might have been a hard warrior to kill but no man can fight without his head.
I turned just in time for there were three men trying to get at Josephus. Aiden was defending him with my shield. I brought Ragnar’s Spirit down on to the back of the nearest warrior’s head. I split his head and laid his backbone open. He slumped to the ground. At the same moment Arturus stabbed upwards and his sword emerged from the warrior’s back. As the last warrior glanced at his two dead companions Aided ripped his seax across his throat and he fell in a heap.
I whirled around but the deck was devoid of any warriors who still lived. I glanced over the side and saw that the pirate ship was slowly sinking. I raised my sword and my whole crew erupted into a cheer. We had won. Four pirate ships had been sunk and their crews slaughtered.
We had suffered no deaths but there were some badly wounded warriors. Aiden set to healing them. We stripped the bodies of everything we could and threw the pirates overboard. Already larger fish were gathering for a feast.
We had a fine haul of weapons and jewellery. Many of the warriors had rings of gold studded with rubies and emeralds. Most of them had earrings of gold and golden bracelets and all of them had sported at least three weapons. We were not delicate when we removed the earrings and the rings; the pirates were dead. We had gathered much from the fifteen who had boarded us.
Josephus shook his head as I approached. “The gods favour you master. To take on four pirate ships and not lose a man is truly heroic. And I owe my life to you and your son. I have two lives to give you now.”
“You have repaid me already. It was your knowledge which saved us this day.” I looked south. “They will have come from the coast will they not?”
“Aye, they will live close by.”
“Then we will visit and provision ourselves at their expense.”
He shook his head, “Nothing will surprise me anymore.” He put the steer board over and we headed south.
>
I was hungry; fighting always made me so. I looked forward to a hot meal cooked ashore.
Chapter 21
We sailed due south until we saw the land grow from a smudge to a brown strip dotted with strange trees which Josephus told us were called palms. We headed east along the coast. We stopped when we saw smoke rising in the distance. Lowering the sail we moved under oar power only. Ahead we saw a rocky promontory. We stopped and I went ashore with Snorri and Arturus.
“We will spy out the land. Have the men prepare for a raid. If we are not close enough then I will return and we will sail closer.” Haaken and Cnut resented being left behind but I needed them to organise the men. These were not Ulfheonar. Someone would need to ensure that they were prepared.
The sand felt hot, even beneath our boots. I regretted both my mail and my wolf cloak. By the time we had climbed the dunes and discovered the coastal road I was bathed in sweat. I noticed that it was paved. It was Roman. Snorri and Arturus were much fitter than I was. I waved them forward. “I will come at my own pace.”
I did not have far to go. A stand of the palm trees we had seen obscured the road ahead. Before I reached them Snorri waved me to the ground and I was forced to crawl the last twenty paces. There, beyond the trees no more than five hundred paces away, was the town. It was made of what looked like crumbling stone and I later discovered was mud. There was a primitive gate and a tower but I only saw four men on the walls. There was a harbour, of sorts and within were four fishing boats; no more.
I backed away from the palm trees. “Snorri, return to the ship. I want Haaken and twenty warriors. The rest should sail slowly around to the harbour. I want to be in position before they race ashore.” He nodded and left.
Arturus pointed inland. “Will we attack from that direction?”
“Aye. We will move quickly for their attention will be on the ship.” He nodded, “Remember son, these warriors are fanatical pirates. That is a strange combination. They will fight like berserkers. Take no chances.”
He pouted a little. “I have killed men before!”
“As I have.” There was steel in my voice. “When I fought that African on the ship I stabbed him twice and he felt it not. Had I not taken his head he would be fighting yet. You have never seen a berserker fight. I have and they terrify me.”
He remained silent. He was not sulking. I had taught him too well for that but he was reflecting on my words. I realised how thirsty I was and I regretted not bringing a water skin. This was not Britannia. The sun was so hot that I had to be wary of touching the metal. I could have cooked an egg on my helmet it was so hot!
It seemed an age before Snorri and Haaken returned. I knew that it had not been that long but I do not wait well. Snorri handed me a water skin with a grin. “I thought you might need this!”
I drank deeply and handed it to Arturus. He had not complained but I knew that he too was thirsty. I noticed that both Snorri and Haaken had removed their wolf cloaks. It was not just me who was feeling the heat.
“We will head into the desert and approach the town from the south.”
We trotted across the road and made for the little cover that there was. I assumed that the guards would be more likely to be watching the sea. If they saw us now it would be too late for those in the village. When we had travelled half a mile I turned and we ran east towards the town. The ground was rough scrubby desert and I wondered what creatures they had here in Africa. It would be cruel to die from a creature whose name we did not know. I wished I had asked Josephus about the animals. I could see now that the walls of the fort were not high. They were less than the height of two men.
We were finally spotted and the alarm was sounded. I saw men on the walls pointing at us. I hoped that this was the village which had sent the men after us. We would find it hard to fight a large number of warriors. We had spread out in a long line. I was in the centre with Arturus and Haaken next to me. Snorri was ahead of me and he stopped abruptly and threw up his shield. An arrow thudded into it. They were defending their town. As we turned to approach the walls I saw the mast of my ship on the other side. We had managed to surround it.
Suddenly the gate was thrown open and people began flooding out. “Let them go, it is what they have in their fort that we want!”
One warrior rushed at us as we raced towards the gate. He clumsily swung his axe and Snorri hacked his body in two with one mighty blow. Once inside I shouted to Arne and Hilvand. “Close the gate and guard it!”
I sheathed my sword. I did not think I would need it. By the time the gate had been closed the narrow streets had emptied and doors were slammed. “Snorri, open the northern gate; the one near to the sea. The rest of you collect any animals you see and take them to the ship.”
It was a poor town but the jewels and the weapons on the dead pirate spoke of treasures here. “Arturus, let us find the finest building in this town.”
People fled when they saw us. I now know that we were the first Vikings they had seen and we must have terrified them. My black armour and wolf skin must have made me appear like some creature from the place they called hell. We were certainly different.
Most of the buildings were poor mud huts but we spied one stone built building. We headed towards it. As we approached we saw three black skinned Africans climbing the village wall to escape into the desert. They were almost naked. I had seen Africans before but they had always been clothed. These seemed to gleam in the sun as the light reflected from their sweating bodies. They appeared to be the direct opposite of us!
The door was ajar and we entered. There were fine tables and chairs which surprised me. Sadly we could not take them. However there were fine curtains and wall hangings. Erika would have loved them. “Take down the hangings. I will continue my search.”
There was a cooking area and I found strange powders and foods. We would take those too and ask Josephus what they were. Sadly there were no weapons and, I suspected, all the gold and jewels had already been looted by the three men I had seen fleeing.
When I returned to the main room Arturus had a pile of the curtains and hangings. “There is much food in the back. Go to the ship with the hangings and return with others to help carry it all. I will continue to search.”
I went to the upstairs. I had never been in a home with stairs. I began to wonder about both the building and the owner. The bed was enormous and had fine and soft bed linen. This was a find! I found another room with clothes within. They appeared to be robes which were made of thin material but they were finely made. I almost tripped over the box which was at the back of the clothes room. I would have missed it had I not caught it with my foot. I dragged it out into the light. It was locked. I had learned my lesson and I would leave its opening for Aiden.
“Jarl Dragon Heart!”
I heard my men calling for me. “I am upstairs.”
Aiden, Cnut and Arturus joined me. “We have the town although it is a poor place. I cannot see much treasure here.”
I spread my arms. “And what of this?”
Cnut nodded grudgingly, “It is not the treasure I would have hoped but it will sell.”
“Or we could take it back with us. I would sleep on such linens.”
“And the clothes?”
“I think that they may be the most valuable treasure of all. I long to wear something light and cool. I think that they would do.”
Aiden suddenly spied the box. “This may be your treasure Cnut.” He knelt down and took out his tools. His keys did not work but his picks and his dagger popped open the lid. Within it there was another ancient wooden box as well as coins and rings. I wondered if we had disturbed the thieves before they could take all of the riches.
“That is better.”
Aiden took out the box. He traced some letters which were on the lid; they looked to be Greek, ‘Cephas’. Aiden slowly opened the box for the lock had been broken. Inside were the bones of a hand.
Arturus snorted in disgust, “Who w
ould want to keep bones?”
Aiden closed the lid and returned it to the chest. “The followers of the White Christ come to mind. These will be the bones of one of their holy men. This may be worth more than all of the rest.”
“And why would an African pirate want them?”
“He was a pirate. Perhaps he robbed them and was waiting for a buyer. Remember the Count your father sold the holy book of the White Christ to? There are some buyers and collectors who will pay the best price for such relics.”
I spied an empty chest. “Put the linens and clothes in there. Then we will gather the food from downstairs.”
We lugged the treasures down to the ship which was tied to the tiny jetty. We passed those who had fought my men. There were huddles of bodies close to doorways. I could see that they had been searched. With their men dead I doubted that the people of this village would return.
My men had managed to gather one old cow and four sheep as well as a host of smaller, noisy birds. They were in good spirits. “Get some cages for the birds. They will feed us at sea. Slaughter these larger beasts and we will cook them. There is no danger here now. We will rest here tonight and enjoy the fruits of our victory.”
Josephus came ashore and told us what some of the powders were. “These,” he pointed to a cedar box containing many smaller boxes, “are the spices of which I spoke. This box would be worth a hundred golden talents in Frankia!”
I showed him the garments I had obtained. Josephus became excited when I showed him two of them. “These are made of silk.” He frowned, “The man who had these was not a true Muslim for they are forbidden to wear silk but it is a wonderful material. It is the material worn by the Emperor himself. Take care of that Jarl Dragon Heart for it is more valuable than you can know.”
Aiden produced the small chest containing the bones. “And this?”
He gasped when he read the name, “That is Simon Peter. They worship him as one of the followers of the White Christ. He is the one they call St.Peter.” He smiled, “You now have your way into Constantinopolis! The Emperor will welcome anyone who brings such a relic into the city. They believe the relics of the saints protect them from the infidel and the barbarian.”